When I started out for my walk this Sunday morning it wasn't really all that nice out. But after yesterday's wind, rain and temps in the lower 40's, it was quite nice. I spotted a wide variety of birds and waterfowl but the first thing I caught a photo of was this Great Blue Heron fishing along the shoreline where the creek flows back out of the lake. I noticed him just in time before walking right out into the open and scaring him off. You can also see here that the edges of the water are greening up while further in is still dead and dry.
By the time I was on the east side I'd seen a lot of other birds but wasn't able to catch any good photos. There is a little tiny ditch here that usually has standing water in it and this hen Mallard came walking up out of it. She was so close I couldn't resist a photo. I was hoping she might have some ducklings with her as I've seen quite a few already but she did not. Shortly after I stopped to watch some Tree Swallows for a while, zooming out from a nest box, then coming back repeatedly. I think they were still building a nest inside. I've also been seeing a lot of Brown-headed Cowbirds recently -usually groups of 10 or more. Mostly I've noticed them on the ground out in the baseball fields on the east side.
Each time I see them I can usually also hear their very high pitched squeaky call. After turning my attention of the quick moving Tree Swallows I noticed this female Cowbird sitting by herself across the trail in the willows. They're not a particularly pretty bird and I realize they are generally despised by birders for their behavior but you'd never guess it from this picture. I always think the female seems to have spots running down the side of her breast but I think it's just how the feathers lay. By the time I arrived at the bridge over the creek on the north side, the sun had popped out and it really turned a corner. I met up with a friend from the park and we watched the Barn Swallows, Mallards and Wood Ducks while we talked.
A little bird came bouncing up the creek bank and came up almost right underneath my feet. I thought at first that it was a Chipping Sparrow or American Tree Sparrow -both of which I don't have photos of. But later I think it was just another Song Sparrow. Regardless he was within that range that I can never pass up so I took a few shots. Usually when I see them they are all puffed up and don't look like the slender bird this one does.
When I started out for my walk this Sunday morning it wasn't really all that nice out. But after yesterday's wind, rain and temps in the lower 40's, it was quite nice. I spotted a wide variety of birds and waterfowl but the first thing I caught a photo of was this Great Blue Heron fishing along the shoreline where the creek flows back out of the lake. I noticed him just in time before walking right out into the open and scaring him off. You can also see here that the edges of the water are greening up while further in is still dead and dry. 
By the time I was on the east side I'd seen a lot of other birds but wasn't able to catch any good photos. There is a little tiny ditch here that usually has standing water in it and this hen Mallard came walking up out of it. She was so close I couldn't resist a photo. I was hoping she might have some ducklings with her as I've seen quite a few already but she did not. Shortly after I stopped to watch some Tree Swallows for a while, zooming out from a nest box, then coming back repeatedly. I think they were still building a nest inside. I've also been seeing a lot of Brown-headed Cowbirds recently -usually groups of 10 or more. Mostly I've noticed them on the ground out in the baseball fields on the east side. 
Each time I see them I can usually also hear their very high pitched squeaky call. After turning my attention of the quick moving Tree Swallows I noticed this female Cowbird sitting by herself across the trail in the willows. They're not a particularly pretty bird and I realize they are generally despised by birders for their behavior but you'd never guess it from this picture. I always think the female seems to have spots running down the side of her breast but I think it's just how the feathers lay. By the time I arrived at the bridge over the creek on the north side, the sun had popped out and it really turned a corner. I met up with a friend from the park and we watched the Barn Swallows, Mallards and Wood Ducks while we talked. 
A little bird came bouncing up the creek bank and came up almost right underneath my feet. I thought at first that it was a Chipping Sparrow or American Tree Sparrow -both of which I don't have photos of. But later I think it was just another Song Sparrow. Regardless he was within that range that I can never pass up so I took a few shots. Usually when I see them they are all puffed up and don't look like the slender bird this one does.
No comments:
Post a Comment